Trae Young didn’t exactly enter the regular season on the hottest of streaks.
After an impressive preseason opener against the New York Knicks, the Washington Wizards point guard struggled with his efficiency and turnovers over the team’s final three exhibition games.
Young committed 20 turnovers across four preseason games, including eight against the Brooklyn Nets and five apiece against the Detroit Pistons and New Orleans Pelicans. After shooting 4-of-7 against New York, he also shot just 3-of-20 from the field over his final three appearances.
Those numbers aren’t exactly what Wizards fans were hoping to see from their new $212 million point guard.
Young, however, doesn’t appear particularly concerned.
Locked On Wizards host Ben Strober attended Wizards practice and relayed Young’s explanation for some of what Washington saw during the preseason.
“We talked to Trae Young today and Greg asked him about the turnovers and maybe some of the more poor play that we saw from Young in the preseason,” Strober said. “And he said it’s a completely different ball game from preseason to regular season, and a lot of things they were doing were because he was specifically trying to get everyone involved as much as possible, was not as focused on the scoring…So maybe Trae Young is going to look pretty different in the regular season. That’s what he is saying is kind of the reason maybe the turnovers were up for him. So hopefully that is the case.”
There is some reason to believe Young’s explanation.
Washington completely reshaped its roster during the offseason, and Young is now learning how to play alongside Anthony Davis, AJ Dybantsa and several other players who weren’t part of the Wizards’ rotation a year ago.
Preseason gave Young an opportunity to experiment with those new teammates without the results actually counting.
There were glimpses of what that could eventually look like. Against Detroit, Young recorded eight assists in the first quarter while attempting just one shot in the entire first half. That might not be the approach Washington wants from him every night, but it reinforces the idea that Young was emphasizing getting his teammates involved rather than hunting his own offense.
The regular season changes the equation.
Washington acquired Young to be both an elite facilitator and one of its primary offensive weapons. The Wizards will need his scoring along with his ability to create opportunities for everyone around him.
Twenty turnovers in four games and a 3-of-20 shooting stretch are still worth noting. If those problems carry into the regular season, the conversation surrounding Young’s preseason will quickly become more meaningful.
For now, though, Young appears to be telling Wizards fans not to read too deeply into exhibition basketball.
They won’t have to wait long to find out whether he was right.
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